# Full-timers: fewer hours or fewer days? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 19, 2015, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017 "2015-11-19T20:58:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/21 "2015-11-19T23:50:17Z")
It’s had to say… Option A, you only work 35 hrs/week, but get paid for 40 Option B, you get an extra free day, but work 40 hrs/week and get paid for 40 I’d probably choose Option A. Less actual time at the office and you don’t have the stress of super long days when you are there. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/22 "2015-11-19T23:54:16Z")
Over two weeks I work 9 days (every other Friday off), usually 9 hours per day 8 days and 8 hours on the “on” Friday. It has greatly improved my quality of life (I work as a civilian for the military in the US). With government holidays, I don’t actually have too many 2 day weekends… at least half, I think, are 3 day weekends (with the occasional 4 day weekend). ---
**Author:** ![ctywkr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@ctywkr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctywkr)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/23 "2015-11-20T02:33:41Z")
I’ve worked a 5 day 40 hour week, M-F 7:00am to 3:30pm I have also worked a 4 day 40 hour week, Th-Su 8:00pm to 6:30am. I currently work a 9/80 schedule. M-Th 6:30am to 4:00pm, On Fr 6:30am to 3:00pm. off the other Friday. 80 hours in nine days instead of ten. Of the three, the weekend 4/10 shift was the best. Off on Monday, not back to work until Thursday night. However, if I had a choice, I would work my sisters shift. She’s a nurse and works 3 12 hour shifts and get paid for a 40 hour week. ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/24 "2015-11-20T03:03:20Z")
> [@polar\_bear](#): > > Is this supposed to be an honest question in which both options equal “less” work than the status quo? …Yes? I’m not sure why you think it’s a dishonest question. I’m actually surprised by the responses. 10 hour days would turn my brains to mush and the lost free time in the evenings isn’t worth the extra weekend day for me. I would take a 7x5 in a heartbeat. Working 10 hours is such a brain drain that I’d rather do physical labor than have my thinking cap on that long. But apparently I’m in the minority on this. Learn new things everyday, it seems. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/25 "2015-11-20T03:10:10Z")
I actually do work 4x10, with weekends and Wednesdays off. It’s fantastic. There’s no such thing as Monday or Tuesday, there’s only Thursday and Friday! ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/26 "2015-11-20T03:37:23Z")
Shorter workday. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/27 "2015-11-20T04:01:53Z")
I’m all for a 4 day work week. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/28 "2015-11-20T04:07:14Z")
Fewer days. You save time by missing one whole round trip of commute, one whole day of work clothes, one fewer day of coffee and lunches. I don’t ever really feel like I need more hours in a day. But I often feel like I need more days away from work. ---
**Author:** ![TheSpeculationElucidation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@TheSpeculationElucidation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSpeculationElucidation)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/29 "2015-11-20T08:32:31Z")
I’d rather actually work 16 hours for 3 days then have the rest of the week off. I work over 40 hours every week. I’d rather bust it all out at once and have an extended weekend. I hate working every single day. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/30 "2015-11-20T08:42:30Z")
I’d like the schedule my sister has. She works as a pharmacist in a hospital. She works seven days in a row, and the time comes out to about seventy two hours. Then she’s off for a week. I could do that, work a long week, in order to have that much non vacation time off at once. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/31 "2015-11-20T08:44:20Z")
It would depend on a lot of other things about the job. I used to work the weekend shift: 12h shifts on weekends and holidays, fill the rest of the yearly hours with substitutions of week-day workers, training days, and one 8h day each week. Any time we had to work 3 nights in a row we ended up resembling casting day at the Walking Dead, but except for that and for our families never being able to wrap their heads around our schedules, it was a pretty sweet deal. The job was pretty varied, and if you didn’t have anything to do you could read or study (just no streaming and definitely No Porn). We could have the radio on (or casettes, hey, the mp3 format was still in the future), and sometimes we’d call for takeout for everybody or have a cookout. With conditions like that, or if it’s WFH with nice expectations about response times, I’d be perfectly happy with long hours. I’ve also had jobs where we were not allowed to talk about anything but work and where nothing to do time was face time. Nobody talked. Everybody’s shoulders looked to be in need of a massage. No music. These, I wanted out before lunchtime rolled around! ---
**Author:** ![polar\_bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@polar\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polar_bear)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/32 "2015-11-20T09:57:28Z")
> [@yellowjacketcoder](#): > > …Yes? I’m not sure why you think it’s a dishonest question. > > I’m actually surprised by the responses. 10 hour days would turn my brains to mush and the lost free time in the evenings isn’t worth the extra weekend day for me. I would take a 7x5 in a heartbeat. Working 10 hours is such a brain drain that I’d rather do physical labor than have my thinking cap on that long. > > But apparently I’m in the minority on this. Learn new things everyday, it seems. Maybe I didn’t chose my words carefully enough. I am also surprised how many people would essentially be willing to work a few hours a week for free. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/33 "2015-11-20T10:36:10Z")
4 days rather than 7 hours, not a second of hesitation. I’ve already worked part-time. It changed everything. Basically, with full time, on Sunday I’m already thinking it’s the end of the week-end, and it feels like I had only one day off/week. Not working on Friday, by Thursday morning I was already thinking it was the end of the week and it was feeling like I had only 3 days of work/week. Massive change, psychologically. On the other hand, when I’m already at work, I don’t really care whether I’m staying one hour less or one hour more. And in fact, I prefer to work longer and getting extra days off. A day of work is a day of work, basically, shortening it doesn’t do much for me. A day off, on the other hand, is very appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/34 "2015-11-20T11:19:05Z")
I did the 4/10 schedule for awhile and loved it. Three day weekends are very nice, so I’ll go that way because one hour a day just doesn’t really make a significant difference. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/35 "2015-11-20T11:42:40Z")
My employer gives us three options: -standard 8-hour days, five per week -10-hour days, four per week -9-hour days - 5 one week, then 3 the next week plus one 8-hour day (i.e. one weekday off every two weeks) I’m on the third plan, and I like it. 9-hour days are tolerable, and the one weekday off every couple of weeks is very handy. Some folks do the 10-hour days. That’s a bit much for me. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/36 "2015-11-20T11:47:37Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > It’s had to say… > > Option A, you only work 35 hrs/week, but get paid for 40 > > Option B, you get an extra free day, but work 40 hrs/week and get paid for 40 I had assumed it was simply a mistake in the OP and that we were supposed to work the same number of hours in both cases. ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/37 "2015-11-20T12:14:38Z")
> [@yellowjacketcoder](#): > > …Yes? I’m not sure why you think it’s a dishonest question. > > I’m actually surprised by the responses. 10 hour days would turn my brains to mush and the lost free time in the evenings isn’t worth the extra weekend day for me. I would take a 7x5 in a heartbeat. Working 10 hours is such a brain drain that I’d rather do physical labor than have my thinking cap on that long. > > But apparently I’m in the minority on this. Learn new things everyday, it seems. I’m with you. I’d love to work fewer days, but I can’t handle 10 hour days. Once upon a time, but no more. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/38 "2015-11-20T12:34:35Z")
I’ve been working a compressed shift for over 20 years. I can’t imagine working a regular 9-5, 5 days a week job. One week I will work 3 12 hour shifts and the following week I will work 4 12 hour shifts. So my short weekends are three days and my long weekends are 4. I frick’n LOVE it! It’s so great to be able to go run errands or catch a movie while the rest of the world is busy at work. No lines, no crowds. It’s great. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/39 "2015-11-20T12:42:51Z")
I’ve done this IRL. I used to work 8 hour days, 5 1/2 days a week. As I became more efficient and did more overseeing and less actual work I cut my hours. I now work 4 hour days, five days a week, with an occasional four hour Saturday, generating the same money I used to. Four hour days are awesome. Even if I don’t feel like going to work, I know I can do four hours standing on my head. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/40 "2015-11-20T14:11:50Z")
I currently work from 7:30-3:30 with an hour lunch so I’d be all for shaving an extra hour off that. Working 10 hours per day, plus my hour commute each way, would be a major disruption to our family schedule and leave me little time for anything else during the work week so the extra day off wouldn’t be worth it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017.md?page=3)